Faculty mentorship during residency and professional development among practising emergency physicians

Objective: Mentorship is perceived to be an important component of residency education. However, evidence of the impact of mentorship on professional development in Emergency Medicine (EM) is lacking. Methods: Online survey distributed to attending physician members of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), using a modified Dillman method. Survey contained questions about mentorship during residency training, and perceptions of the impact of mentorship on career development. Results: The response rate was 23.5% (309/1314). 63.6% reported having at least one mentor during residency. The proportion of participants with a formal mentorship component during residency was higher among those with mentors (44.5%) compared to those without any formal mentorship component during residency (8.0%, p<0.001). The most common topics discussed with mentors were career planning and work-life balance. The least common topics included research and finances. While many participants consulted their mentor regarding their first job (56.5%), fewer consulted their mentor regarding subspecialty training (45.1%) and research (41.1%). 71.8% chose to work in a similar centre as their mentor, but few completed the same subspecialty (24.8%), or performed similar research (30.4%). 94.1% stated that mentorship was important to success during residency. Participants in a formal mentorship program did not rate their experience of mentorship higher than those without a formal program. Conclusions: Among academic EM physicians with an interest in mentorship, mentorship during EM residency may have a greater association with location of practice than academic scholarship or subspecialty choice. Formal mentorship programs increase the likelihood of obtaining a mentor, but do not appear to improve reported mentorship experiences.